Tangled Up
by sarahbell86
Summary: AU. Three years ago, Quinn, Tina, Rachel, Brittany, and Santana were the biggest girl group in the world. When fate throws them back together, will they be able to reclaim what they once had? Quinn/Tina/Rachel/Brittany/Santana-centric with multiple ships.


**Title: ** Tangled Up (1/?)  
><strong>Author: <strong> sarahbell86  
><strong>Fandom: <strong> Glee  
><strong>CharactersPairing: ** Quinn/Tina/Rachel/Brittany/Santana-centric. Contains many ships - Fuinn, Fabrevans, Tike, St. Berry, Bartie, Brittana, Finchel, Quick, Kurtofsky, Santofsky friendship, etc.  
><strong>Rating: <strong> PG-13  
><strong>Genre: <strong> Drama/Romance  
><strong>Word Count: <strong> 3096  
><strong>Warnings: <strong> None  
><strong>Summary: <strong> AU. Three years ago, Quinn, Tina, Rachel, Brittany, and Santana were the biggest girl group in the world. When fate throws them back together, will they be able to reclaim what they once had?  
><strong>Notes: <strong> My first (published) Glee fic. The idea just wouldn't go away. All the songs used to portray the band's music are by Girls Aloud, including their solo stuff. For simplicity's sake, the voices match up like so: Quinn=Cheryl Cole, Tina=Sarah Harding, Rachel=Nadine Coyle, Brittany=Nicola Roberts, and Santana=Kimberley Walsh. I hope you enjoy!

**Chapter One**

_"Are Quinn Hudson and Rachel Berry preventing a Scarlet Senses reunion? This is so true. Sources confirm that the pop starlets and former band mates are refusing to speak to each other, and are the major roadblock leading to a reunion of the girl group, who haven't performed together in over three years..."_

"Oh, shut up Ryan." Quinn muttered, turning the TV off with a disgusted sigh.

"Why do you even watch that crap?" Puck asked as he moved into the living room of the hotel suite, his fingers flying over the keyboard of his phone.

"I actually used to enjoy them before I was on them every day." she replied to her tour manager, smirking.

"Yeah, it must be so hard to be a rich, world famous pop star." Quinn replied by throwing a pillow at him.

"Such diva antics! Wait until the rags hear about how you abuse your employees!"

"Please." Quinn replied, rolling her eyes. "You're hardly an employee. You're more like this annoying brother who makes me do things I don't want to."

"Speaking of which, we've got to go. You have a rehearsal at SNL in an hour."

"Dropped? What do you mean, _dropped?_"

"Rachel..."

"They can't do this to me! Do they know how much money I've made for them?"

"That was with the band, Rachel..." Will said from the couch, letting Rachel pace in front of him.

"So? I was still part of the band! Doesn't that count for anything?"

"Of course. I'm already working on a press release saying that it was mutual..."

"Was...was I not generic enough? Not blonde enough? Look how much money they're sinking into Quinn! She's going to be on _Saturday Night Live_this week!"

"Rach, Quinn's had two number one albums. She's the biggest pop star in the world right now."

"What does she have that I don't?" Rachel whispered, her arms wrapping around herself as the tears began to spill from her eyes. Will stood up, pulling the girl into his arms, knowing that she needed a friend more than a manager at the moment.

"Everything looks good, Mrs. Chang." the nurse said, smiling nervously.

"Thank you." Tina replied, smiling back. The nurse seemed to hesitate for a moment before speaking again.

"I just wanted to tell you what a big fan I am. I grew up with Scarlet Senses, and you were always my favorite."

"Oh, thank you." Tina replied, feeling self-conscious dressed in the stiff paper gown.

"So, when are you guys getting back together?" the nurse asked as she filled out something on Tina's chart.

"Oh, you know...eventually. When the time is right."

"Hmm, well, I know everyone misses the five of you together. Anyway, the doctor will be in soon. Oh, and congratulations."

"Thanks." Tina replied, her hand instinctively moving to her stomach, where the baby she and Mike had been waiting for was finally growing.

"Alright, let's try it one more time before we lose the light." the director yelled, and Brittany slumped against the wall.

"How are you doing Britt?" Ellis asked, the tiny PA running up to her with a towel and a bottle of water.

"Hot." Brittany said, taking the water as Ellis patted her arms and legs down. They had chosen the hottest day of the year to shoot her new video outside, but she was too excited to really care.

"This sure isn't like all of those videos you shot with the band indoors, huh?"

"You were a fan?" Brittany asked, perking up.

"Of course." Ellis replied, shrugging. "Wasn't everyone? You guys were my first concert." Brittany smiled and handed the water back to Ellis before the PA ran back to where the crew were watching the shoot. It was still weird to do this without the other girls, especially Santana, but she still felt better back at work than she had since the break.

"Well?"

"Are you serious right now?"

"What? You're gay, and I need an opinion." Santana said, gesturing to the dress she was currently wearing.

"I'm not that kind of gay, Santana. Why didn't you call Kurt?" Dave replied, rolling his eyes.

"He's in Milan or something." Santana replied. "Besides, there's been this photographer living outside of my building for the last week. The least I can do is give him something interesting to photograph, like my hunky actor boyfriend coming by to do something wanky."

"Ew, San. Just...ew."

"You are _so_gay, Karofsky." Santana chuckled. "Most men would kills to get all up on this."

"Yes, well, they'd have about as much luck with that as you would with me."

"True." Santana replied, shrugging. "So this one or the black? It's my first movie premiere as the date of the star, I need to look perfect."

"_You're slipping through my fingers, such a natural disaster love_  
><em>Bringing on the flood, the flood, the flood<em>  
><em>Love me like a flood, the flood<em>  
><em>Bring it on<em>

_Rising and falling in my dreams_  
><em>Rising and the falling of my tears that fill the ocean, the ocean, the ocean<em>  
><em>My tears that fill the ocean."<em>

"Thank you!" Quinn said as the song finished with a flourish. She felt a smile grow on her face as the audience cheered. She had done SNL with the band, but this was her first time on her own, and she had had a rare case of the nerves as he performance had neared. Once she got the okay from the cameraman, she waved once more at the audience before stepping backstage. Puck was waiting for her, like always, as was her PA Lindsay. Immediately, she could tell something was off, neither of them willing to look her in the eye.

"What's wrong?"

"Sue's waiting for you."

"Puck, what's going on?" She knew for a fact that Sue had been in LA this afternoon. She was panicking at what could have prompted her manager to fly across the country to have a meeting with her. "Is it Beth? Is it Finn?" But still, Puck didn't reply.

Sue's back was tot eh door as Quinn entered the dressing room, shooting a glare over her shoulder as Puck and Lindsay remained in the hallway.

"Cowards." she muttered as she closed the door.

"When, exactly," Sue began, her back still to Quinn. "Where you planning on telling me about this, Blondie?"

Quinn looked down at the coffee table as Sue tossed a newspaper on top of it. A grainy picture was plastered on it, a photo of Quinn underneath, a photo of Sam Evans next to it. The headline made Quinn forget how to breathe.

_Quinn Hudson cheats on hubby - with his own teammate!_

"I-I don't..."

"Let's just get one thing straight. Is this true?" Sue asked, pointing at the offending newspaper. Quinn stared at it, open-mouthed, before nodding slightly.

"Oh, Blondie. How many times have I told you? Do whatever you want - as long as it's done in private. You're the golden girl, America's sweetheart, do you have any idea the amount of clean up I'm going to have to do?"

"Does Finn know?" Quinn whispered, a tear making a trail down her cheek as she thought of her husband.

"I don't know. But if he doesn't, he will soon. This will be everywhere tomorrow morning."

Quinn closed her eyes, willing out the world, waiting the ground to swallow her whole. She wasn't sure how long she stared at the newspaper, but she and Sue sat in silence until Puck knocked on the door, telling her that it was time for her second song. Puck said nothing at her red-rimmed eyes, and Lindsay simply called over the makeup girl, instructing her to touch Quinn up. She let Puck lead her to the stage, ignoring his quick "good luck" before she took her place at the center of the stage. She was suddenly grateful that her second song was fast-paced. She was fairly sure another ballad would kill her.

"Once again, Quinn Hudson." she heard the host introduce her, and the applause from the crowd mixed with the opening lines of 'Let's Get Down.' She stayed focused on the performance, pushing thoughts of Finn, Sam, Beth, everything from her mind. Ever the professional, she moved perfectly in time with the beat, turning to face the audience and cameras as the spotlight shone on her.

_"Five days of work, two whole days of party..."_

"Quinn cheated on Finn."

The words are out of Santana's mouth before she'd even fully stepped into Brittany's apartment, coffee and newspaper in hand. Brittany looked at her in confusion from the couch, her spoonful of Captain Crunch halfway to her mouth.

"It's all over the news." Santana continues, flopping down on the couch next to her.

"Have you talked to Quinn?"

"What? No, of course not. Miss Perfect Pop Star is way too busy to be bothered with the likes of me."

"She's our band mate, San."

"_Was_. Was our band mate, B. She and Gold Star were the ones who decided they needed to be solo stars."

Brittany didn't say anything in response, simply rested her head on Santana's shoulder.

"How did the video shoot go?" Brittany perked up at Santana's question, the Latina girl listening quietly as the blonde rambled excitedly about her second solo video shoot.

"I wish you could have been there, San."

"Dave had his movie premiere I had to go to." Brittany didn't say anything in response, her dislike of the action star clear.

"Let's watch some TV." Santana said, changing the subject. Immediately, E! came on, a picture of Quinn and Finn splashed across the screen.

"_Breaking news from the E! newsroom, as Finn Hudson files for divorce amidst rumors of an affair between Quinn Hudson and Finn's teammate, Sam Evans. We can now confirm that Finn filed for divorce from his pop star wife after five years of marriage. This news comes just hours after photos surfaced of Quinn and Sam kissing on the streets of New York. No word from either camp on the divorce, but Quinn is said to currently be on a flight back to Los Angeles, where she is expected to lay low..."_

Rachel had never put much stock in the tabloids, ever since they began accusing her of having a 'diva attitude' early in the band's rise. The fact that they now seemed content to tear her apart at every opportunity just cemented her aversion to the rags. Still, she was surprised at the sheer number of paparazzi outside of her building. She assumed word had gotten out about being dropped from the label, so she slipped on her sunglasses and checked her hair in the hall mirror before stepping out. Immediately, the air filled with the calls of the photographers.

"Rachel!"

"Rachel, over here!"

She ignored them as she made her way to her car, a neutral smile on her face as she made a beeline for the town car, until one call in particular caught her attention.

"Rachel, how do you feel about the divorce?"

This stopped her in her tracks, and the paps went wild. She caught a few key words - Quinn. Finn. Divorce. Affair. - before slipping into the car. She was so lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice that the figure next to her wasn't Will, but still someone very familiar.

"Hell, Diva." Sue said, scrolling through her phone.

"Sue? What are you doing here?"

"Well, princess, I'm here to save your career."

"My career is just fine, thank you." Rachel's voice rose several octaves, a sure sign that she was uncomfortable.

"Your one and only single barely cracked the top fifty, and your so-called album didn't fare much better. You can't land a respectable gig to save your life, and a little bird told me you've been dropped from your label. How am I doing so far?" Rachel folded her arms across her chest in a defensive maneuver and stared out of the window, silence filling the car as it whizzed through the New York streets.

"What did you have in mind?" Rachel asked a few tense minutes. She had sworn three years ago that nothing would make her go back to Sue Sylvester, but losing your dream had a way of changing one's mind.

"A reunion." Sue said simply.

"No way!" Quinn exclaimed, staring incredulously at Puck. "Absolutely not."

"Hey, don't shoot the messenger!" Puck replied, putting his hands up. "This one comes down from the great and terrifying one herself."

"I've had two number one album, why does she think this is a good idea? I'm on top of the world!"

"You _were_on top of the world Quinn. But your whole image was built around the idea that you were the perfect pop princess. Now, your face is splashed across the cover of every tabloid in the country as a cheater. Finn's filed for divorce, and I can guarantee you those that spent all those years building you up as America's sweetheart? They can't wait to tear you down."

"I don't even know what we're doing here." Santana muttered, downing the last of the latte one of Sue's lackeys had brought her. "They're not even going to show up, this is just a waste of time."

"I have to agree there." Santana and Brittany turned to see Tina walk into the room, pulling her jacket tighter around her as she moved toward a seat at the conference table. Santana nodded at the girl in greeting, watching with slight disapproval as Brittany jumped up and hugged the Asian girl. Tina looked extremely uncomfortable, but returned the hug before sitting down in the seat next to Brittany, Santana on the other side of the table.

"So, no Quinn or Rachel yet?" Tina asked. "They always did love to keep us waiting."

"Yeah, well, I have better things to do than wait around on Barbra and Miss Perfect." Santana snapped. "I stopped doing that three years ago."

"Sit down, Lopez." Sue called, stepping into the room. Quinn appeared from behind her, looking just as unhappy to be there as the rest of them. Santana looked like she was about the reply, but a cutting look from the manager had her sulking back to her seat. Sue took the head of the table, Quinn looking lost for a moment before she chose the seat closest to Sue on the opposite side from the girls. She looked slightly worse for wear, the normally perfectly polished pop star dressed down in old jeans and a sweater, her long blonde hair pulled up into a haphazard ponytail. A tense silence fell across the room, save for the sounds of Brittany and Santana playing tic-tac-toe on Santana's phone. After Brittany had soundly defeated the Latina girl (a small smile on Santana's face the only indication that she had let her win), the door opened to reveal Rachel, Will following a few steps behind. She scanned the room silently, meeting every girl in the eye as she followed Will to the other end of the conference table, leaving several seats between her and Quinn.

"Hell, Hair Gel." Sue greeted, and Will instantly rolled his eyes.

"Sue..." he warned, but was promptly ignored.

"You all know why you're here." Sue began, spreading her arms across the table.

"Yeah, Fabray can't keep her legs closed." Santana snapped, Brittany and Tina pushing away from the table as they watched Quinn try to leap across it.

"Enough!" Sue yelled, forcing Quinn back into her chair and pointing a warning finger at Santana, who was smirking triumphantly.

"I told you this wasn't going to work." Santana said haughtily.

"It will work because I say it's going to work. Now, you all are going to sit here and be silent until I tell you to speak, or you're going to find out just how much I enjoy Chinese water torture.

"Now, three years ago the five of you were on top of the world. You were the biggest pop stars, famous, rich - you sold out arenas without batting an eyelash. Look at you now. Hobbit, you're a flop, Asian's so boring it makes me want to set her on fire, Airhead tries so hard to be quirky that she's passed hipster and come all the way back around again, and Job's greatest achievement is dating a meathead action star. I'm not even going to start on what an excellent job this one has done of screwing up." Sue said, gesturing to Quinn. "The truth is, I don't really care of kind of namby-pamby high school beef you have going on between you. In fact, I'm tempted to throw myself out of that window just to avoid having to listen to it. But, you need each other. All of you need a way to salvage what is left of your so-called careers, and this is how we do it.

"Full on reunion. A new album, new tour, the five of you making on as if you're the best of friends and couldn't possibly live without each other."

"You honestly think that we'd be able to work together for more than five minutes, much less for months on end?" Rachel asked, looking between Sue and Will.

"Never happen. I swore off Manhands and Super Slut a long time ago."

"Santana, shut up." Sue said, shooting Santana a look that made the Latina freeze in place.

"You five are messing with my business and I will not have that. You are going to do this or I will make it my personal mission in life to destroy whatever is left of your pathetic little existences."

"You can't threaten us into this, Sue. We're not nineteen anymore." Tina said, speaking up for the first time.

"Look," Will said, throwing up his hands. "As much as it pains me to admit, Sue is right. You've all started to stagnate on your own. You've always been at your best together, in spite of your differences, or perhaps because of them. How about we go into the studio, see what happens?" All the girls looked ready to protest, but another look from Sue had them resigned.

"Fine, but I'll be waiting for the moment I can say I told you so." Santana said after a moment.

"Be in Los Angeles in four days." Sue said before stalking out of the room, Quinn hot on her heels.

"This is going to be a disaster." Tina said, resting her head on the table.


End file.
